Farmer commits suicide in Odisha village; locals block road

A farmer in Ostapal village under Odapada block in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district today allegedly committed suicide over crop loss and loan burden.

The deceased farmer identified as Sadanand Sahu, a sharecropper, who had no land of his own allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison. Sadanand had taken hand loans from local moneylenders for cultivation. With failed crops and prospects of repaying loans next to impossible, he was a worried man and had lost his mental balance, family sources said.

Agitated over the unfortunate incident, locals have blocked the road at Ostapal chowk demanding compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased farmer. Police including the local SDPO have rushed to the spot and are persuading the locals to vacate the road block. However, no one from the district administration has arrived at the spot, reports said.